How can a management consultant introduce a third party during an engagement?

Should a consultant raise a third-party opportunity during a paid engagement?

Only if you keep it clearly outside the engagement: raise it separately from deliverables, disclose any reward in writing, never use engagement access to look at records, and leave the decision to the client's sponsor. Done that way, a consultant can offer data licensing as one more option without compromising independence.

The risk is not the idea. It is that a client who is paying you for objective advice may wonder whether your recommendations now have a second motive. Your protection is structure and transparency. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Check your engagement letter, your firm's policies and your own counsel.

Why consultants see the opportunity first, and what that implies

During a project you may sit in the operating review, read the process maps and hear which systems nobody wants to retire. That is precisely the visibility that makes the idea worth raising, and precisely why the client must trust you did not use it for gain.

Disclosure of a connection matters in other fields too. The FTC's staff guidance on endorsements says a connection between a person recommending something and the company that benefits, which the audience would not expect, should be disclosed. See the FTC's endorsement guide questions. That guidance addresses advertising, not consulting, so treat it as a benchmark for good practice rather than a rule that governs you.

Which engagements produce a good candidate?

Engagements that touch systems and history are the best signal. Judge from what you already know in the course of the work, never by asking for extra access.

The clean-engagement rule: four walls

Think of four walls around the paid work. If any wall is breached, pause the idea.

• Time wall: raise it in a separate conversation, not in a steering committee, status report or deliverable.
• Access wall: you do not open, copy, summarize or describe client records on the SourceX program's behalf. Only what is in your deliverable scope informs your judgment.
• Money wall: the engagement fee is unchanged, and no recommendation in your deliverables mentions SourceX.
• Decision wall: the CEO, CFO, owner or authorized representative decides, and your recommendations do not change if they decline.

When to raise it in the project calendar

How the introduction works

1. You check your engagement letter and firm policies for outside referral rules.
2. You tell the sponsor about the option in a short, separate message and disclose any reward.
3. The sponsor reviews the company fit checker or applies at sourcex.si/apply.
4. SourceX qualifies the company, helps it build an inventory, agrees price and terms, and arranges buyer review.
5. If the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee, the partner reward becomes payable.

You never handle data. De-identification and redaction rules are agreed between the company and SourceX before any work begins.

What to say

Send it by email so the disclosure is documented. Wait for a reply and do not chase.

Disclosure and rewards

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX collects from the referred company's licensing deals, up to $100,000 per referred company, paid after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee. The reward is never deducted from the company's proceeds, and no reward is guaranteed. Many consultancies have rules on referral rewards, conflicts and independence; some clients write them into the master services agreement. Confirm with your own counsel before acting.

Mistakes that cost consultants the client's trust

Questions to ask your firm first

• Does our engagement letter or code of conduct restrict outside rewards or referral arrangements?
• Do we need written client consent before disclosure is effective?
• Does a partner, general counsel or risk committee need to approve?
• Does any current client appear on this list, and does the engagement include audit, assurance or similar independence-sensitive work?
• If a client later disputes the arrangement, what record do we want to hold?

When not to bother

• Your contract bars outside rewards or requires client approval you cannot get.
• The engagement is advisory to a board on an objective decision where any side interest could taint the work.
• You know the client sits below 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), or you suspect its data belongs to its own clients.
• You learned about the records only through confidential materials you cannot refer to.

Related reading

Bankers face a parallel problem with credit, covered in commercial bankers raising data licensing. The stakeholder objection map helps you anticipate concerns, the delivery manifest template shows what a handover involves, and can licensed data be subpoenaed answers a question a careful client may ask. For wording, see introduction email templates for management consultants and compare notes with M&A advisors.

Next step

If your firm clears it, register as a partner, then walk through the referral earnings calculator and the FAQ.